Maine star athlete tells Senate committee her struggles with diabetes

Courtesy of Sen. Susan Collins | BDN

Courtesy of Sen. Susan Collins | BDN

Kate Hall of Casco (left) chats with Sen. Susan Collins on Wednesday in Washington, D.C. Hall, a star track and field performer, testified before the Senate Special Committee on Aging at a hearing about diabetes issues and research. Collins chairs the committee.

Courtesy of Sen. Susan Collins | BDN

Courtesy of Sen. Susan Collins | BDN

Sen. Susan Collins presides over the Senate Special Committee on Aging's hearing on diabetes in Washington, D.C., during which track and field standout Kate Hall of Casco (foreground, right) testified about living with Type 1 diabetes.

Kate Hall was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 10 years old.

Not long afterward, she experienced a moment that steeled her resolve in making sure the disease did not define her.

“The thing that stood out to me the most was being benched during my first soccer game after my diagnosis,” Hall explained. “That really made me realize that diabetes wasn’t going to ever stop me from doing the things I love most. I thought, ‘I am not sitting out on anything ever again, if I can help it. I am figuring this thing out.’”

That was part of the testimony the 18-year-old from Casco gave Wednesday, when she appeared before the Senate Special Committee on Aging in Washington. The hearing, titled “Diabetes Research: Improving Lives on the Path to a Cure,” was held in conjunction with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s “Children’s Congress.”

Hall, a record-setting long jumper and sprinter who competed at Lake Region High School in Naples, was among those invited by Sen. Susan Collins, who chairs the Special Committee on Aging, to share their experiences of living with Type 1 diabetes.

Hall spoke for 4½ minutes, publicly sharing the challenges she has encountered and, thus far, conquered in pursuing her track and field career.

“Because I live with Type 1 diabetes, keeping my blood sugar in a healthy range as much as possible is just as important a part of my training and success as anything I do to prepare for competitions,” Hall said.

The process can be disruptive and time consuming.

“During my training or competition, I try to take my blood sugar every half-hour to ensure a high or low blood sugar will not affect my performances,” she added.

Hall emerged as one of the most dominating athletes in Maine track and field history. In four years, she went undefeated in the long jump, the 100 meters and the 200 meters against in-state competition.

“My dream is to one day represent the United States at the Olympics,” Hall, who will attend Iowa State University in the fall, said.

“Although I’ll be far from home and working with a new team of coaches, one key part of my life remains unchanged — the challenges of managing my Type 1 diabetes every single day.”

Hall talked about the complexities and frustrations of maintaining a proper blood-sugar level in order to be able to perform consistently well as an athlete. Painful muscle cramps have sidelined her for a day or even a week.

Her testimony also touched on an issue facing some Type 1 diabetics. She wears an insulin pump, which provides regulated levels of insulin to help control her blood sugar.

Hall also has utilized a continuous glucose monitor or CGM, but a recent change of insurance companies meant that device no longer is covered.

“With most private health insurance covering CGMs these days, I am hopeful that my current plan will update its policy so I can use a CGM again,” Hall said. “These devices help me spend more of a day in a healthy blood-sugar range and also helps me in training and competing.”

“It was just thrilling to hear of your success and setting new records, and to do so while coping with a very complicated illness is even more impressive,” Collins said. “But most of all, you really inspire all of the children who are here today to know that they, too, can achieve their dreams, so thank you for coming.”